On My Account
by Equals.Love
Summary: They all wanted what they couldn't have. Pairings inside so read and review!
1. Hero

"Do you need anything?"

"No, I think I'm okay…but thank you so much. This is more than enough," responded the meek and mild Hinata. She lay in the bed of hospital room four, bandaged, wrapped, and pumped full of numbing medication.

Everyone worried, but Hinata had no regret. She had done what she did to save Naruto, to give him the drive to save the village that now loved him as one of their own. She could cry from the happiness that brought her. The one thing she couldn't get enough of, was that smile of his. He glowed more than ever now, and for that, she didn't mind being in a near fatal state. It was all worth it.

She slowly adjusted herself so that she stayed propped up against the bed, and stared out the window. There, she could see the courtyard in which young children went through rehab. She remembered a time when all of the rookie nine would spend hours sneaking out of their hospital beds of pity and work their asses to the bone in that courtyard. She remembered when the nurses would usher them back in, fear of damaging their condition even more.

More importantly, she remembered Naruto in that courtyard, disheartened by his inability to retrieve a certain Uchiha.

Now that he was home, Konoha seemed to had fallen back into it's original state. Peaceful (apart from the rebuilding of…well, everything).

Hinata's soft eyes flitted to the doorway when she heard a knock, and wondered who was on the other side.

She didn't have to wonder, really.

"Come in," she sang, and the door clicked open.

It was only natural for Hinata's skin to turn the shade of a tomato when the man she loved stood alone in a room with her, holding not only a bouquet of flowers, but Hinata's headband as well. He gently kicked the door shut with his food, and set the flowers, along with the headband on her bedside table.

"Hey, Hinata," was the first thing he managed to say.

Hinata could hear the sensitivity in his voice, the unsure imbalance.

When she looked at his azure colored eyes, she saw the pure happiness in them. She missed that light, she felt she hadn't seen it for so long. She almost forgot what it looked like.

With a smile, and her blush still blatantly present, she answered, "Naruto-kun."

She looked at the mix of flowers resting on the table, and said, "they're beautiful, thank you."

"I-it's not a big deal, don't worry about it. How are you?" He asked, eyes roaming over her critical condition. Just because everything wrapped about her was white and clean, didn't mean a damn thing about her not being in any sort of pain. But Hinata lied. She wouldn't dare see a smidge of anything _but_ happiness in his handsome face.

"I'm doing fine, recovering nicely! Thanks for asking! What brings you here?"

Naruto looked at her fully, noticing the lack of stuttering that she usually gave when around him. He made note of that. Maybe it was because she had stood up to the strongest member of the Akatsuki, for the sake of the blonde himself?

Would that really…yeah, it would. Naruto knew that feeling.

He grinned down at her, and said gleefully, "hey, hey, when you're able to get out of this place, I'll take you to Ichiraku. My treat, okay? Just the two of us!"

Hinata blinked at him several times, still trying to register his definition of a date. Or was it a date? Of course that's the first thing Naruto had rebuilt. He couldn't help rebuild the village if he didn't get his daily intake of ramen.

Hinata chuckled lightly, and murmured, "Naruto-kun? You're being awfully generous, treating me to your favorite shop?"

Naruto then shrugged, and sank into his collar. "I can be a gentleman…you'll like that guy, he's a pretty close cut to Naruto the great. Just…romantic."

Hinata full on laughed when he came up with that one. "Naruto-kun, you? Romantic?"

The blonde was happy that she was laughing, but he didn't want that to be a joke. "Don't believe me?"

"Hey, if you say it, I believe it," she smiled, and when they both flashed back to Hinata's proud confession, they both turned away with a slight blush. Silence blanketed the room.

"Achem…well…Sakura-chan would love to see that, I'm sure," Hinata said casually, trying to break the chain of awkward silence. But that didn't really help. When she looked at Naruto, he was staring at her with complete shock. "How did you-?!"

"Naruto-kun…the whole village knows about that. You might as well stop keeping it such a secret."

"Well, it doesn't have to be a secret anymore. I mean," Naruto broke off mid-sentence, and sincerity filled his expression.

Or, it tried to, at least.

Hinata's heart rate nearly flew through the roof (she was thankful to not have that damn monitor), when Naruto grabbed her hand. He gently laced his fingers through hers, and said in a soft manner, "I don't want Sakura."

Hinata stared at their hands, her one of many fantasies actually a reality at the moment. She was waiting for the nurse to pull her out of a deep sleep, and find Naruto standing beside rookie nine all in her room, and her awkwardly evading the explanation of her dream.

But that moment never came.

She was still in her dream state. For a good few minutes.

"What are you…saying?" Hinata finally asked, unsure whether she wanted to hear his answer or not.

"I think," Naruto began, and she watched his cheeks fill with the embarrassment that she always felt, "I think I love you, Hinata-chan."

To hear those words come from him, was as if Heaven had descended upon her itself. She could have easily broken free of the bed and morphine, and let this sun kissed blonde whisk her away to the happy place she dreamed of.

But something about this whole setting didn't sit right.

The more she looked at his smile, the more she began to dislike it.

The closer he got to her, the more she began to regret letting him touch her.

The more he said her name, the more she wanted him to shut up.

"Naruto-kun, stop," she said quickly, and leaned away. Naruto blinked, and looked at her with a confused expression. "Hinata-chan?"

"You can't be serious," Hinata stated.

"Nani? I'm dead serious! I love you, Hinata-chan. You choose now of all times to not believe me?!" Naruto's eyes tightened, and he said in a strangled manner, "Hinata-chan, you said a minute ago, if I say it, you believe it! Believe me, I love you! I love you so much!"

Hinata watched the slight anger rise in his voice, and she said with a small smile, "Naruto-kun…yes, I do love you. Very much so. But please, don't pretend on my account."

Naruto's expression became sad, and he squeezed her hand tightly. "what are you saying? Are you stupid? I thought this would make you happy!"

"I am happy, but being with me isn't your happiness. I saved you, but don't make that the reason for loving me. That's not real."

He grimaced, and turned his head away from her smile. He couldn't bear to see her smile right now. "What's with you… Why are you so damn confusing? You're in love with me, right? I just said I love you, and you don't even want me?"

"No. Naruto-kun, the way I see you, is the way you see Sakura-chan. You can't change that over a few days, because I near gave my life for you. That's something I would do anyway." Hinata squeezed his hand in return, and said with a small, sheepish, smile, "I would like it if we stayed friends. We can go for ramen any time you like. You can tell me anything. But please, if you really want me to be happy, then don't pretend, okay?"

Naruto snorted, but with a small nod, he leaned forward, and left a gentle kiss against her forehead. "Don't stay in here forever. I expect to have a shit ton of lunch dates, alright?"

Hinata grinned, and Naruto smiled back, although ruefully. "You're definitely weird, Hinata-chan."

As Naruto left, Hinata couldn't help but cry. She felt pathetic, but crying just felt like the right thing to do. All of her efforts to win him over, and in the end, she couldn't have him. That's the way it worked. She looked out into the courtyard, and watched as Naruto passed by the small kids, his head hung low and his hands deep in his pockets. He'd be okay, she knew.

"Don't ever pretend for me, okay?" she asked, placing her hand against the window. "I'll think you're the worst, if you begin to pretend. And I won't love you. So don't pretend."


	2. All Along

A certain sun kissed blonde sat on a swing, gently rocking back and forth in the silence of the small park.

It had been five days since his mix up with Hinata, and since then, he hadn't been to see her.

He couldn't see her until she got out. Naruto needed to recover. In the end, after countless hours of constant thought, he came to agree with her. She was right. He was forcing himself to believe he loved her. But why?

Naruto had looked back on all of the people who hated him, and feared him in the village until now. Hinata was never part of that. In a way, he felt that it was his fault for her sacrifice, and now that he knew how long she had loved him for, it only made it worse. Part of him wanted to take her in his arms and thank her, for being the one person in his life that hadn't ever feared him.

But could he bring himself to love her? Over time? Could he really forget about Sakura?

Naruto's mind was foggy, and it wasn't going to clear up anytime soon.

He kicked a pebble as he rocked slowly in his swing, giving a heavy sigh.

"Careful, if you think too much, you might actually figure something out."

Naruto looked up from the ground, and found Sakura standing before him with a big smile.

Of course Naruto had to see her right now, of all times.

"What are you doing out here, baka? You look all depressed. You don't even have your headband on!" Sakura tapped his forehead, and when Naruto didn't perk up, her playful small talk turned serious. "Hey…you've been distant and gloomy for five days now. Even Sasuke-kun is worried. What's wrong?"

Naruto looked up at her, and with the worst smile in his life, he said, "it's nothing. I'm just kind of clouded in thought."

Sakura wasn't going to accept that answer. She wouldn't accept that from anyone. The pink haired kunoichi pulled at his arm, and said, "Come on, I have something that will cheer you up," she winked, and the blonde was suddenly curious. What could Sakura do to cheer him up?

Anything.

He followed her as they walked to the park bench, the park bench in the academy, where he had first tried to steal Sakura's kiss while disguised as his best friend. _Almost got away with that,_ Naruto thought idly, looking around at the Sakura trees in full bloom.

Sakura looked up at the trees, and said with a small grin, "remember how you leaned against this tree, and posed as Sasuke-kun?"

"What about it?" Naruto asked, somewhat glum. He didn't prefer it when Sakura brought up anything that had to do with Sasuke. Especially since he couldn't consider him a man worth loving (he didn't consider himself a man worth loving…but that was another story).

"Lately…I've wondered, what if it hadn't been him? What if it was really you, instead?"

Naruto looked at his teammate, and she had already turned towards him, snaking her arms around his torso, and pressing her forehead against his chest. "Sakura-chan-"

"I don't know why…and I don't really know how, but for the past two months, you've been on my mind. And I think…"

Sakura peeked up from his ramen scented t-shirt, to look into his puzzled blue eyes. "I think I love you, Naruto-_kun_."

Naruto had longed for her to say his name in that manner. His legs were nearly numb when she had said it now. Hearing the words _I love you_ not pointed at Sasuke, were almost too unreal.

Naruto was waiting to be slapped across the face, and startled awake in his room, having been late for a mission, and Sakura standing there with her hands on her hips, and Sasuke leaning against the wall. He was waiting for this beautiful ecstasy to just vanish, as if it wasn't even there.

When Sakura's right hand slithered around his neck, though, the feeling of her fingertips on his skin sent him into a whirlpool of unbelievable reality. This was real. This was definitely real.

"Sakura-chan I-!" She slowly brought his head down to give him the kiss he'd been dying for, but as she got closer, Naruto realized he didn't want this.

The more she called him sweetly, the worse his headache became.

The tighter she pressed herself against him, the more he wanted to pull away.

"Stop!" He growled, and yanked his head backwards, breaking free of Sakura's grip.

"Naruto-kun? What's wrong?" She asked worriedly, also somewhat angrily. Rejecting Sakura was a big mistake. Naruto glared at her, and snapped, "why? Why did you choose me all of the sudden?"

"What are you…? I just realized that you're the better man! You know me, you cherish me. You were there was I needed you. You're the guy I've been dreaming of, I was just too naïve to realize it-"

"Or is it because I saved Konoha? Because no one thinks of me as a monster anymore? Is that it? I'm not a shame to society any longer?"

Sakura looked appalled by his rejection of her feelings. "What the hell, Naruto-kun?! I was there for you, even when society hated you-!"

"When Sasuke was gone, yeah, you were. Sakura-chan…" His face was filled with anguish.

"Look, I love you, but don't pretend on my account," he repeated Hinata's words, and they tasted like venom. Telling the person you love, who just confessed, that you didn't want them? Twisted.

"falling in love with me, because I'm a hero, isn't real. For as long as I've known you, you've had your head wrapped about teme. You can't change that in a few months. So…let's just stay friends, okay? Let's just forget this ever happened?"

Sakura grabbed his jacket with both of her hands, and jerked him forward, roughly, making sure he wouldn't evade her piercing stare. "What's your problem? For years, you've been after me. Here I am on a silver platter, and now you don't want me?"

"I do…I do want you, Sakura-chan…but not if you don't love me for me. Please…just hear me out. I know how you're feeling right now. It hurts, and you know I'm right," he dipped his head, the shameful memory of his same reaction to Hinata flooding into his head. Sakura let out a soft sigh, and slowly nodded. "Okay, okay. For you, I'll let this go. But this aside, stop being so depressed. I like you with a happier aura."

Naruto twitched a small smile, but nothing serious. Sakura left a gentle kiss on his cheek, and sent him one long lasting look, as if her offer to be his girl was still on the table. When he made no move to accept or reject, she figured he had disregarded the whole thing. With her head hung low, she let go of his jacket, and began to walk away.

"If you pretend, I won't love you. I'll think you're the worst, Sakura-chan," Naruto mumbled, knowing she couldn't hear him.

And that night, he went home with a sad heart, a clouded mind, and a Gamabunta full of unspent ramen money. He didn't have an appetite.


	3. Family Man

Sakura sat perched on a large hill, the steep Cliffside allowing for a nice view of the village. She swung her legs over the edge, sighing every so often without realizing it. Having been rejected by Naruto really took a toll on her. And his responses, they made her feel worse.

In the end, he was right. She was forcing herself to love him, because he had so long loved her, and now that he was such a hero, it felt so right for him to have the girl of his dreams. She wanted to give him the Hollywood movie life he never dreamed of. But could she bring herself to love him?

She sighed heavily, yet again, and looked out over the hillside. She remembered finding Sasuke up here at night, on her nightly missions to track his schedule. He'd stare at the stars, or glare down at the village below, and she could never tell what he was thinking.

"What did you come up here for…?" she asked quietly to herself, seeing the beautiful view. All it was, was peaceful. Did he not see it this way?

"You try too hard," said a velvety voice.

Sakura didn't have to turn to know who it was, and she certainly wasn't going to.

Her skin crawled when she felt him sit within the too close for comfort range.

Sakura looked up at the man, and saw her lover sitting beside her, his dark hair flowing with the wind, his dark eyes staring down at the village below. She liked him in his anbu gear, which she had found herself ogling at for a while.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked finally, after a few moments of staring. She wondered why Sasuke hadn't moved. Maybe he was used to her admiring, so he just posed.

What a laugh.

Sasuke smirked, his hands resting in his lap, eyes flickering down to them. "I talked to Naruto a few days ago. You really tried to convince him, that you were in love with him?"

Sakura found it funny that Naruto couldn't confide in Sakura, but he spilled everything like a kid to their mother when Sasuke asked. Was that a male bonding thing? Sakura glared at the taunting Uchiha, and snapped, "what's your point?"

"I could have told you that he wouldn't believe you. Truthfully, whether you love him or not, he'll never believe you."

Sakura was disheartened by that, and she looked away from him, saying sadly, "why?"

"His promise to you, was bringing me home. How can he take you, if he's convinced you belong with me?"

Sakura was surprised Sasuke was saying this stuff so freely. She analyzed his logic, and when it made sense, her head sank in shame. "Dammit…in any case, he's right. I don't love him. I thought I did…am I wrong for that?"

"Nah…" Sasuke trailed, and after another few minutes of silence, he looked over and asked, "Oi, Sakura."

"Hm?"

"Do you love me?"

Sakura felt the wind come to a dead stop, and silence became the literal sense. Not even the blades of grass twitched. She looked at the Uchiha, and remembered when they were in the academy, how she often pined for them. The joy if being on his team, the pain of watching him leave. She was desperately in love with him. So much that it hurt.

Her cheeks colored, and she closed her eyes, slowly nodding. "Of course I do…"

_Chu~_

Sakura's eyes snapped open, feeling a pair of surprisingly soft lips touch her billboard of a forehead, and her heart leaping from her chest, and falling rapidly down the Cliffside, sending butterflies to swarm in her stomach. "N-nani-?!"

"I think I might love you, Sakura," he murmured, and Sakura's sea foam green eyes melted into his onyx ones. Sasuke was definitely a lot more urgent. And demanding. When she came up for air, she was already pinned beneath his strong frame, and the taste of him lingered on her tongue, while their hands linked against the cool green grass.

"Sasuke-kun-!"

"Shh, just feel _me_."

But the more he cooed her name, she wanted him to take it back.

The more he kissed her, and caressed her, the more she wanted to throw him off the edge.

She swore by the grace of Kami, that if he drew his tongue over one more spot on her skin, she would scream.

She tried to think of reasons for his sudden sexual activeness. Sasuke never showed female interest, and he never had any experience. Here he was, making out with both her lips and her body, cooing to her like a lover would in bed! And Sakura couldn't help but reciprocate with appropriate moans and whines.

But why was he doing this? Why her? He thought she was annoying, even when every other girl had given up on him.

Sakura's eyes snapped open in realization, feeling Sasuke's hands smooth over her thighs. He was readying to do something _very_ naughty on this very hill.

Sasuke's liquid kiss smoothed over her navel, and it sent Sakura to the sky.

But at the same time, it sent her straight to hell.

"STOP!" She shouted, roughly pushing him upwards. When she opened her eyes, he was staring at her, angry, confused, and her wide spread legs wrapped about his torso.

Sakura quickly scrambled off of him, and covered herself up, shivering and shaking, and hearing the words, "what's wrong," all too familiar.

"Th-this isn't right. Don't, don't do this. Stop touching me-!" She retracted her whole body when he tried to pull her forward again. "What's your problem? I thought this is what you wanted?"

"It is! I do! But, not this way. Not like this!"

Sasuke sat back, looking more analytical than hurt. Sakura glared at him, and snapped in a weird tone, "you were trying to sleep with me?! On this _hill?!_"

"Of course not, baka," Sasuke rolled his eyes, and then leaned forward, nuzzling her jaw. "I'm just playing with you, up here anyway."

"So what, you want me to become the Uchiha baby dispenser?"

Sasuke looked at her, her having said those words with such venom, that it made him angry. "What was that?"

"Face it, Sasuke-kun…why did you pick me? I've never stopped loving you, even when everyone else gave up. Of course I'd be the ultimate candidate."

"You put me into _that_ low of a category? C'mon Sakura, you know me. Why wouldn't I be sincere?"

"Because you haven't been here to love me! You've always thought I was just an annoying girl of a teammate!" Sakura looked down at her hands, and said sadly, "you _can't_ love me. I know you don't."

She felt like Naruto did, now that she was on the other side of the equation. Sasuke glared at her viciously, and said in a low, tempered voice, "I'm giving you what you want, and you're throwing me off like I don't matter?"

"What you're doing now? Is exactly what I did for Naruto…" Sasuke watched sadness and anguish fill her expression. "I never loved him. I just wanted to satiate my personal guilt. Don't pretend on my account, Sasuke-kun."

"You're all fucking crazy. Why the hell would I pret-"

With the look Sakura gave him, he had no choice but to shut up. What could he say, with a stare so painful, and so honest staring at him? His eyes lowered, and Sakura put her arms around him, giving him one last tight hug, before letting go. "Sasuke…don't ever pretend. I'll think you're the worst, and I won't love you."

When she got to her feet, he said in a nasty, haunting tone, "so what, you going to try and make Naruto the one you're after?"

"For now, I'm just going to go home and cry, and probably regret everything I just told you. But later…later, I might just consider taking Naruto on a date. He deserves it. But hey, Sasuke-kun…let's just stay friends, okay? We can go anywhere, anytime, and talk about anything. Being with you is just enough for me. Can you handle that?"

Sasuke looked at the pink haired kunoichi, and for the first time, he had to give I up for her. She was being the bigger person. "I think, for the first time, you're actually stronger than me," he said with a smirk, and Sakura grinned. "If you're serious about wanting me, then don't give up, okay?"

"Tch…so what, did we just create a damn love line?" Sasuke asked, seeing as it went from Hinata, to Naruto, to Sakura, to himself. Sakura laughed, and wiped her eyes of fresh tears. She couldn't cry until she got home.

"Yeah, we made a love line."

Sakura walked down that hill, went home, and cried until her eyes hurt, until her head hurt, and until her heart begged for her to stop.

Sasuke stayed up on that hill, watching over the village again. "Peaceful view," he murmured to himself, thinking it was pretty funny that he'd actually convinced himself to have an almost sex act right on this hill, with a girl he had ignored for years.

He vanished from the top of the hill, and reappeared in the hospital, clicking the door open to room four.

"Hm…? Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked, her eyes widening, caught in the act of hitting the morphine button.

"Expecting someone?" Sasuke asked, and Hinata smiled. "No, it's just a bit embarrassing to hit this stupid drip…I feel weak."

Sasuke recalled himself saying that. He eyes the flowers in a vase, knowing those were from Naruto. Hinata's eyes were slightly puffy, which meant she'd still been crying.

"Hey, I heard about what happened with Naruto," he said, and Hinata blushed, looking out the now dark window. "I'm pretty pathetic…huh?"

"No, you just added to our stupid love line. Sakura's after him," Sasuke sniffed, and scanned the room, as if he was going to find something better to look at. Hinata chuckled, and rested her head back against the pillow. "So you forced yourself to be with Sakura-chan?"

When he looked at her, she just smiled, "you have the same look Naruto-kun did. We don't like hearing the truth."

"Hn…do me a favor," Sasuke muttered, and Hinata looked at him carefully. "Give Naruto his shot, and fall in love with me."

Hinata's heart rate spiked, and her skin turned tomato red. "NANI?!"

Sasuke chortled, and flicked Hinata's forehead. "Baka, I'm kidding."

"O-Oh…it was a joke…" when Hinata managed to calm down, she smiled at the Uchiha, and said, "it's not impossible, you know. I'd like to become better friends with you, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn? Haven't you heard? I'm pretty cold, and brutal."

"My family's pride and joy. I think I can handle the rough edges. Besides, I'd like to test my palm technique against your sharingan sometime." Sasuke looked down to see her hand held out, and she laughed, "I like squares better than lines."

"I want to prove you wrong," Sasuke clapped his hand with hers, and suddenly, the two of them didn't feel so depressed anymore.

_As long as you don't pretend, I won't think you're the worst._

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